Kings of the Road

Kings royally beat Devils, taking first half of crown

The Kings find themselves in a situation they have been in three times already this postseason…up 2-0 heading back to Los Angeles. The Kings are 14-2 in the playoffs, but the more impressive number is their 10-0 road postseason record. The New Jersey Devils appear baffled by the outcome of the first two games, because the sentiment from the club is that they have played two very strong hockey games. Now New Jersey faces the daunting task of traveling across the country and playing the Kings at the Staples Center in front of a fan base which has waited 19 years for meaningful hockey and is ready to raise the cup.

For the second consecutive game, the Kings won a thrilling 2-1 OT game. Jeff Carter beat Martin Brodeur 13 minutes into the extra period, but prior to his shot, the game was insanely close. The Devils outshot the Kings 33 to 32, they outhit LA 35 to 32 and the face-off matchup was 38 to 33 in favor of the Kings. Now the Devils will have to beat the Kings in 4 out of the next 5 games, in which 3 of the games will be on the road. When asked about his teams chances, captain Zach Parise said “They are a great team, but it’s not like we got blown out the last two games,” Parise said. “It will be really hard but we will give it our best shot.”

Hit me with your best shot – ooops, you did!

Devils sniper Ilya Kovalchuk had two great chances to win the game. In the last-minute, Los Angeles turned the puck over to Ilya right in front of the Kings net, but Kovalchuk didn’t get his best shot off, it grazed goalie Jonathan Quick’s shoulder and deflected off the crossbar. Then in the first couple of minutes of OT, Kovalchuk had another chance to blast the puck in the net and Quick stopped him on the doorstep. Martin Brodeur, who was playing in his 200th game did more than enough for Jersey to win them the game, though the youngster Quick as just a little bit better and as a result the Kings are in position to step on the Devs throats in the next contest.

Well, my original pick of Devils in 7 is looking pretty doubtful but once again, who really knows when it comes to these Stanley Cup playoffs…Enjoy the highlights from last night’s game.